President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that billionaire Elon Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy will head a new temporary agency, the Department of Government Efficiency, aimed at reducing government bureaucracy, cutting waste, and restructuring federal agencies.
Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy would provide guidance from outside the government, working with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to drive large-scale reforms. Musk described the initiative as a way to “send shockwaves through the system” and target government waste.
Trump set a deadline for the agency’s work to be completed by July 4, 2026, marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. “A smaller, more efficient government will be the perfect gift to America,” he said.
The initiative was described by the Trump campaign as “the ‘Manhattan Project’ of our time,” referencing the World War II effort to develop the atomic bomb.
Musk, who played a key role in Trump’s reelection campaign, and Ramaswamy, who ran against Trump in the GOP primary before endorsing him, will not hold formal government positions and are not subject to the ethical requirements of federal employees.
Musk has long been a fixture at Mar-a-Lago, and Trump had previously suggested Musk might oversee a commission to cut government spending. Musk has claimed he could identify more than $2 trillion in savings, nearly a third of the federal budget. Trump had made it clear Musk would not hold a full-time role due to his other business commitments.
